Curtiss BF2C Goshawk
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The Curtiss BF2C Goshawk (Model 67) was a United States 1930s naval
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
aircraft that saw limited success and was part of a long line of Hawk Series
airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...
s made by the
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decades ...
for the American military, and for export as the Model 68 Hawk III.


Design and development

The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and Curtiss felt that the F11C-2 possessed development potential, and the Navy decided to procure a variant with retractable landing gear. This variant, which still had the F11C-2's classic "Hawk" wood wing with its flat-bottomed Clark Y airfoil, was designated XF11C-3 by the Navy and Model 67 by Curtiss. The main gear retraction system was inspired by the Grover Loening-designed system on the Grumman XFF-1 prototype, and was manually operated. The XF11C-3 was first delivered to the USN in May 1933, with a Wright R-1820-80
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
rated at . Trials revealed a increase in speed over the F11C-2, but the extra weight caused a decrease in maneuverability. The Navy felt the handling degradation was more than offset by the increase in speed, however. During testing the XF11C-3 had its wood-framed wing replaced by the metal-structured, biconvex, NACA 2212 airfoil wing, and soon after was redesignated XBF2C-1 (Model 67A) in keeping with the new Bomber-Fighter category.


Operational history

Twenty-seven BF2C-1 were ordered by the U.S. Navy, with a raised rear turtledeck, a semi-enclosed
cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
, and a metal-framed lower wing. It was armed with two .30 calibre Browning
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s and three
hardpoint A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on the ...
s for of external stores. Delivered in October 1934, they were assigned to VB-5B on the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
, but served only a few months before difficulties with the landing gear led to their withdrawal. In spite of its short service run, many of the innovations developed for the Goshawk line found wide use in Navy aircraft in the years that followed. They were the last Curtiss fighter accepted for service with the U.S. Navy. The export version Model 68 Hawk III reverted to the classic wood/
Clark Y Clark Y is the name of a particular airfoil profile, widely used in general purpose aircraft designs, and much studied in aerodynamics over the years. The profile was designed in 1922 by Virginius E. Clark using thickness distribution of the Germa ...
wings and was powered by a R-1820-F53. Chinese Hawk IIIs served as multi-purpose aircraft when combat operations against the Imperial Japanese
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
Air Forces began in earnest in August 1937, particularly with the
Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan at the beginning of th ...
and
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, and were considered the
Nationalist Chinese Air Force Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
's frontline fighter-pursuit aircraft along with their inventory of Hawk IIs, Boeing Model 281 "Peashooters" and
Fiat CR.32 The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. Designed by the aeronautical engineer Celestino Rosatelli, it was a compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable aircraft for its era, leading to i ...
s. Col.
Gao Zhihang Gao Zhihang (; 14 May 1907 – 21 November 1937) was a flying ace of the Republic of China (1912-49), Republic of China in the Second Sino-Japanese War. On August 14, 1937, the 4th Air Force Group commanded by Gao shot down six Japanese planes o ...
scored a double-kill against the superior Mitsubishi A5M "Claude" (predecessor of the A6M "Zero") over
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
on 12 October, 1937 while at the controls of his Hawk III numbered "IV-I" (4th Pursuit Group, Commander). As the air-interdiction and
close-air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movem ...
for the
National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
of China continued at the Battle of Shanghai on 14 October, 1937, the Chinese Air Force launched a major strike against Japanese positions in Shanghai at 16:00 hours with a uniquely mixed force of three Curtiss Hawk IIIs escorting three B-10s, two He-111As, five O-2MCs and five Gammas from Nanjing in the late-afternoon, and then one strike launched every hour from Nanking to Shanghai in the evening until 03:00 hours on 15 October. These combination of attacks with the Hawk IIIs were used against both the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces, and against both ground and naval targets with considerable success through the end of 1937, before being superseded by the better-armed and faster Polikarpov I-15 and
I-16 I16 may refer to: * Interstate 16, an interstate highway in the U.S. state of Georgia * Polikarpov I-16, a Soviet fighter aircraft introduced in the 1930s * Halland Regiment * , a Japanese Type C submarine * i16, a name for the 16-bit signed integ ...
fighters that were supplied to the Chinese Air Force through the Sino-Soviet Treaty of 1937. In early 1935, Thailand placed an order for 24 Curtiss Hawk IIIs at a cost of 63,900 Baht each, and a manufacturing license was also bought. The first 12 Hawk IIIs were shipped to Thailand in August and the remaining 12 arrived in late 1935, which were named Fighter Type 10. A total of 50 Hawk IIIs were locally built during 1937 and 1939. The type was used against the French in the Franco-Thai War and the Japanese invaders in December 1941, then relegated for use as trainers. Some of these aircraft were still active in 1949 and one airframe (KH-10) survives in the Royal Thai Air Force Museum.. Unofficial site that has a better photo and a bit more history. The Model 79 Hawk IV demonstrator had a fully enclosed cockpit and a R-1820-F56.


Variants

;XBF2C-1 Hawk :The XF11C-3 prototype redesignated as a fighter-bomber. ;BF2C-1 Goshawk (Model 67A) :Production version of the XF11C-3; 27 built. ;Hawk III (Model 68) :Export version of BF2C-1 with an R-1820-F53 for Argentina, China, Thailand and Turkey; 137 built. ;Hawk IV (Model 79) :Export version with an R-1820-F56 engine; one demonstrator built.


Operators

; *
Army Aviation Service "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falklan ...
operated ten Model 68A ''Hawk III'' and 1 Model 79 ''Hawk IV''. ; * Republic of China Air Force operated 102 Model 68C ''Hawk III'' ; * Royal Thai Air Force operated 24 Model 68B ''Hawk III'' ; * Turkish Air Force operated one Model 68B ''Hawk III'' ; *
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
operated 27 BF2C-1s


Specifications (Hawk III)


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Images

"Fast Navy Plane Has Retractable Wheels"
''Popular Science'', July 1934 {{Thai fighter designations BF02C 1930s United States fighter aircraft 1930s United States bomber aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Carrier-based aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1933 World War II Chinese fighter aircraft